Green Dot E. 27th Street Charter High Schools

The first LEED-certified charter school facility in Los Angeles was born of the transformation of two manufacturing warehouses into a pair of high schools.

Limited to 500 students, each school has its own separate administration, as well as its own architectural identity. Inhabiting the original brick warehouse, the school called “Animo Justice” utilizes warm, red and yellow hues and is entered from the south side of the shared exterior entry courtyard. In contrast, “Animo Ralph Bunche,” the school housed in the tilt-up concrete structure, uses a cooler, blue and green palette, and is accessed via a dramatic steel stair and second floor roof deck on the north side of the courtyard. While each school has its own circulation system, each has independent access to a shared gym and library situated near the center of the combined facility. Skylights are used extensively to ensure that each classroom has access to natural light and a view of the sky.

Located on the edge of a residential neighborhood in South Los Angeles (formerly known as South Central), these facilities offer the promise of a better future to this historically underprivileged area.

About jfak

At John Friedman Alice Kimm Architects, we believe in architecture’s power to transform culture and create compelling and meaningful - as well as joyful - places. Our work catalyzes creative interactions, enhances daily life, is sensitive to the environment, and advances positive social change.